Forum of Municipalities Karelia - Västerbotten took place in Petrozavodsk

16 november 2015

Opening the Forum, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Karelia Dmitry Kislov emphasized that under the present conditions the development of twinning relations acquires particular importance. This thought was supported by Erik Hammarskjöld, the Consul General of Sweden in St. Petersburg, who was visiting the Republic on November 12-13.

The importance and sustainability of twinning relations is acknowledged by the 40th anniversary of cooperation between Petrozavodsk and Umeå, coming up in 2016. Cooperation agreements of other Karelian municipalities with partners in Västerbotten account for over a dozen years: Pryazha - Vindeln, Olonets - Lycksele, Medvezhyegorsk - Malå, Kostomuksha - Robertsfors.

The main idea of ​​the Forum was to provide the twinning municipalities with a platform for presentation of new areas of cooperation and an opportunity to outline the next steps and actions. In particular, the Swedish partners were invited to consider possibilities of cooperation in the following areas:

1. The development of tourism along the Blue Highway: cooperation in the field of youth tourism, rural tourism, joint promotion of Blue Highway tourist destination in cooperation with the Swedish part of the route, exchange of experience in the development of tourism in protected areas.

2. The project "Development of Local Communities" aimed at increasing the participation of local villagers and villages in solving urgent problems and the development of their communities. The project is expected to create a network of villages in Karelia and Västerbotten, initiate the exchange of experience, support implementation of measures in energy efficiency, waste management, as well as initiatives proposed by local residents.

3. Cooperation in the social sphere: exchange of experience in working with substitute families and children suffered from violence.

Presentation of Björn Kavalkov-Halvarsson, Consul of Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg